A news-based journal on the Boston restaurant scene. The owner of this blog is also the founder of Boston's Hidden Restaurants, a website that focuses on local dining spots.

Monday, December 21, 2015

Digumm's in Arlington Heights Reopens; GoFundMe Page Set Up

Earlier this month, we reported that an ice cream shop that had replaced the last location of a landmark chain of ice cream parlors was forced to close because it owed back rent, taxes, and water payments. Now we have learned that it has reopened, though it is apparently not out of the woods yet.

A check on the place yesterday evening indicated that Digumm's in Arlington Heights is back in operation once again, with an "open" sign lit up in the window and customers inside the Mass. Ave. shop. While the store is back in business, a search online today came up with a GoFundMe page for Digumm's which is trying to raise $60,000 and includes a note saying that "due to a company buy out by Hood ice cream of New England the name had to undergo a metamorphosis. Since then business has suffered a decline. As an affect the restaurant is struggling to keep up with expenses and faces closure....So please donate and help save our store!" (So far, $200 has been raised for the shop.)

As reported earlier, Digumm's had closed in early December with a note out front saying that a constable served the place notice based on the fact that it owed more than $30,000 in rent, real estate taxes, and water charges. The shop had previously been the last Brigham's outlet to remain open, though Brigham's products can still be found in convenience stores and supermarkets.

[December 23 update: According to an article in the Arlington Advocate, Digumm's owner Steven Kupelnick says that he and co-owner John Mercer have agreed to a payment plan with the landlord for the now-reopened ice cream shop; the post notes that this is the second time Kupelnick and Mercer have been in this situation, as they had also set up a payment plan in 2012 when what was then Brigham's was seized by the state because of unpaid meal taxes (it soon reopened after a payment plan was set up).]